Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Boston: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
The Abosolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a novel about Junior, a 14 year old resident on the Spokane Indian reservation. Junior was born with a brain defect which has given him stutters and seizures; all of which ultimately led to him being an awkward outcast throughout his childhood. His outlets are his cartoon drawings (many of which are in the book), his best friend Rowdy, and basketball.
Junior is well aware of how poor the reservation is and how the school on the reservation is not going to help him get the better education that he wants. Junior becomes torn between two lives: leaving the reservation to attain the education he desires by attending a “white” school and ultimately abandoning his people, or staying true to his family and friends but being condemned to a life of poverty and mediocrity at best. Junior chooses to leave the reservation and has to deal with two major burdens. First, he is picked on for being a poor, Spokane boy by the kids at the new school. Second, he is shunned and abhorred by some members of his community and most notably his best friend. "I mean, I was still the kid who had betrayed the tribe. And that couldn't be forgiven." (Alexie, 2007, p.159). He makes friends with a new girl,Penelope, who he thinks he has a chance with but she ultimately ends up with the popular boy and Junior is back on his own. The book concludes with him finding out that his mother, with whom he has a solid relationship, has cancer.
This book deals with a single child portraying a multitude of demographics. The most notable cultural portrayal is that of a Spokane boy and Native American culture in general. However, Junior also is a member of some other groups that we as teachers will undoubtably encounter. He is also a teenager with some awkward tendencies, someone with a medical condition, a loaner, and someone with home issues. "And yes, I had that stutter and lisp, but I also had that singsong reservation accent that made everything I said sound like a bad poem." (Alexie, 2007, p.61). The biggest impact that this book had in my eyes is that I need to realize that students may have more problems than what is visible on the surface and sometimes more than one problem going on at the same time. For example, Junior says "It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it." (Alexie, 2007, p.13). While this is the biggest eye-opener for me, there are more lessons and ideas that I pulled out of this book. For example, Junior's ideas and decisions sometimes show him to be more mature and thinking like an adult than we may ever expect of 14 year olds which we as teachers may potentially see.
Unfortunately for me, I do not currently see many Native American students in the classroom; not to say that I never will. Whereas I may not experience this culture first hand while teaching, there are still many lessons that I take from this book and apply towards my teaching practice. For example, there is no limit to how awkward it can feel to be a teenager since they are changing physically, mentally, and socially. We need to make sure that, as teachers, we are aware and very supportive. This brings me to my other point that support can come from anywhere and it may be as simple as finding out what the student enjoys doing. In this case Junior was interested in drawing cartoons; I am sure there is some way to incorporate his artistic abilities into assignments or lessons.
Another aspect that is very strong with many cultures that we must not forget is the sense of tradition. Junior made a tought choice leaving the reservation, but this may manifest in some of our students through religion, customs, etc.
I highly recommend this book to everyone - adults and adolescents. The style of writing is fairly simple but very "regular," by which I mean you can read this book as though you were having a conversation with the author. For adults, there are lessons both about the behavior of teens as well as how adults treat teens. For the younger crowd, it is a great story giving hope to anyone who is a little bit different. I would definitely use this book in my classroom.
Alexie, S. (2007). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Boston: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
The Abosolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a novel about Junior, a 14 year old resident on the Spokane Indian reservation. Junior was born with a brain defect which has given him stutters and seizures; all of which ultimately led to him being an awkward outcast throughout his childhood. His outlets are his cartoon drawings (many of which are in the book), his best friend Rowdy, and basketball.
Junior is well aware of how poor the reservation is and how the school on the reservation is not going to help him get the better education that he wants. Junior becomes torn between two lives: leaving the reservation to attain the education he desires by attending a “white” school and ultimately abandoning his people, or staying true to his family and friends but being condemned to a life of poverty and mediocrity at best. Junior chooses to leave the reservation and has to deal with two major burdens. First, he is picked on for being a poor, Spokane boy by the kids at the new school. Second, he is shunned and abhorred by some members of his community and most notably his best friend. "I mean, I was still the kid who had betrayed the tribe. And that couldn't be forgiven." (Alexie, 2007, p.159). He makes friends with a new girl,Penelope, who he thinks he has a chance with but she ultimately ends up with the popular boy and Junior is back on his own. The book concludes with him finding out that his mother, with whom he has a solid relationship, has cancer.
This book deals with a single child portraying a multitude of demographics. The most notable cultural portrayal is that of a Spokane boy and Native American culture in general. However, Junior also is a member of some other groups that we as teachers will undoubtably encounter. He is also a teenager with some awkward tendencies, someone with a medical condition, a loaner, and someone with home issues. "And yes, I had that stutter and lisp, but I also had that singsong reservation accent that made everything I said sound like a bad poem." (Alexie, 2007, p.61). The biggest impact that this book had in my eyes is that I need to realize that students may have more problems than what is visible on the surface and sometimes more than one problem going on at the same time. For example, Junior says "It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. It's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it." (Alexie, 2007, p.13). While this is the biggest eye-opener for me, there are more lessons and ideas that I pulled out of this book. For example, Junior's ideas and decisions sometimes show him to be more mature and thinking like an adult than we may ever expect of 14 year olds which we as teachers may potentially see.
Unfortunately for me, I do not currently see many Native American students in the classroom; not to say that I never will. Whereas I may not experience this culture first hand while teaching, there are still many lessons that I take from this book and apply towards my teaching practice. For example, there is no limit to how awkward it can feel to be a teenager since they are changing physically, mentally, and socially. We need to make sure that, as teachers, we are aware and very supportive. This brings me to my other point that support can come from anywhere and it may be as simple as finding out what the student enjoys doing. In this case Junior was interested in drawing cartoons; I am sure there is some way to incorporate his artistic abilities into assignments or lessons.
Another aspect that is very strong with many cultures that we must not forget is the sense of tradition. Junior made a tought choice leaving the reservation, but this may manifest in some of our students through religion, customs, etc.
I highly recommend this book to everyone - adults and adolescents. The style of writing is fairly simple but very "regular," by which I mean you can read this book as though you were having a conversation with the author. For adults, there are lessons both about the behavior of teens as well as how adults treat teens. For the younger crowd, it is a great story giving hope to anyone who is a little bit different. I would definitely use this book in my classroom.